宁愿 in Mandarin: rather than, prefer to

The two are related but their meanings are opposite in some ways. This is an explanation of the grammar and usage of 宁愿.

宁愿 [A] 也不 [B]

‘rather A than B’

This structure is really useful and pretty straightforward. It’s used to express that someone would rather do action A than action B.

However, it’s not exactly the same as ‘would rather A than B’ in English. Whilst it can be used to express a general preference, quite often it has the connotation that neither choice is particularly desirable, it’s just that A isn’t as bad as B.

The general structure is:

[someone] 宁愿 [verb phrase A] 也不 [verb phrase B]

It’s not essential to express the alternative option, in which case the structure is simpler:

宁愿 [A] 也要 [B]

rather [A] and [B]

This structure is related but doesn’t contrast the two options. Instead, it’s used to explain that someone is willing to do something in order to achieve something else, or forego A but have B. A is undesirable, but B is worth it.